


Six Scenes from the Marriage of the Sun and Moon

by Suzume



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Courtship, F/F, Female Friendship, Gen, Priestesses, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 01:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4900054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzume/pseuds/Suzume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A marriage is arranged to unite the Land of the Moon and the Sun Kingdom in peace.  With luck, it will also become a match of love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Scenes from the Marriage of the Sun and Moon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



> My first time writing something completely original for an AO3 exchange! So I really hope you like this. Rather than being too (fantasy) court politics/international intrigue, I tried to take something a light fairy tale angle with it.

First : How It Came To Be Decreed

 

         It wasn't overly difficult for the Land of the Moon to cease open conflict with the Sun Kingdom. With six separate wars fought between them in the last fifty years, not to mention any number of less easily labeled hostilities, people of both nations, from the lowliest peasants to the lofty queens currently reigning were ready for a peace that would stick. Deciding on what measures to take to achieve that goal were a more complicated matter. There had been legitimate reasons, after all, that all the treaties and tradeoffs and other measures taken by the prior kings and queens had failed.

         This was where Queen Aleiya meant to step up and do her ancestors proud. She was not the youngest ruler to ever wear the Lunar Crown, but between her and her late father, it was a close thing. She did not see herself as the wisest or most beautiful sovereign in the history of the Land of the Moon, but she did believe there was a reasonable chance she was their most stubborn. She had assembled her best advisers, old and young, tried and untried, religious and secular, from departments both core and peripheral.

         Queen Beatrice of the Sun Kingdom had vowed to do the same. They would meet in a temporary town of tents erected on precisely the border between their two kingdoms. The meeting between monarchs would last for one week. Their advisors, on the other hand, would continue to reside in the encampment for as long as it took them to concoct a proposal to which both sides would agree. Aleiya was firm with her people on the matter of what sort of thing it would take to receive her approval. There was to be no giving up and dubbing some half-hearted effort 'good enough.' She was determined to see both lands blessed with a lasting success.

 

         Upon meeting for the first time in person, the queens discovered despite the superficial differences of their appearances and upbringings, they were possessed of rather similar values and temperaments.

         "If your nature, Aleiya, is largely representative of the people of the Land of the Moon, I find my optimism toward this venture rather increases," Beatrice observed over a tea, private but for their respective personal guards (one ancient oak of a man and one stone monument of a woman, both standing by sternly, albeit with a dainty teacup in one hand).

         "While, certainly, a people varies," Queen Aleiya replied, "The Land of the Moon is greatly guided by the gentle hand of the Moon Cult, and I myself have been a special recipient of their great kindnesses, seeing as I was fostered by the prior First Priestess in my youth. …Alongside the current First Priestess as it were!" Her smile became more than simply polite as fond memories of those days came back to her. "First Priestess Miraluna is only one year my senior, but she is incredibly even-tempered and suited to her position."

         "That seems a special honor indeed. …I have read that the Moon Cult has oft encouraged prudence when prior rulers of your nation have wished to rush to war."

         "Yes, they tend to seek to temper our weaker impulses."

         "Our own late High Priestess of the Sun, Escasole, often encouraged me in a similar manner." Beatrice looked down into her tea to see a bit of leaf standing straight up- perhaps an omen? It served to remind her of Escasole, with her statuesque posture. She had succumbed to illness a year before, only forty-two, far too young. "Our new High Priestess is…well, I would not judge her war-like, but there has not been as much time to tell, though our Lady Escasole handpicked her as her heir."

         Aleiya recalled the rumors she had heard to the effect that High Priestess Escasole and Queen Beatrice had been lovers- certainly a queen and high priestess could engage in a relationship as they liked, but with monarchs, there were always matters of succession to consider. Beatrice had chosen a prince consort from among the ranks of the lower nobility of her kingdom…but you didn't hear about him much. Together they had three small children.

         "I imagine the new high priestess accompanied you here, assuming her duties did not render her too busy to take part in this matter?" Aleiya mused.

         "Indeed, Solesca is present in the camp."

         "It would be my pleasure to meet her specially, were that not too much of an inconvenience."

         Queen Beatrice set her favorite rose-patterned teacup with a decisive clink. "Not at all. I would be honored to make that introduction."

         Queen Aleiya laughed, "I only wish First Priestess Miraluna was here with me to meet her!"

 

         The long-term peace establishment talks dragged on. The advisors of the two queens did not immediately mesh as swimmingly as their respective monarchs, but as Aleiya and Beatrice returned home to their palaces, their assorted aides, generals, and scholars- High Priestess Solesca included- they labored continuously at their task.

         Queen Aleiya and First Priestess Miraluna's schedules did not immediately align to allow them any personal time together, but when they did, her meeting with High Priestess Solesca was one of the first things the young queen wanted to discuss. The two friends sat in Aleiya's favorite gazebo on the palace grounds together sipping spiced wine. "She was absolutely gorgeous, Mira! I was flabbergasted!" Aleiya laughed.

         "It doesn't seem like you to be thrown for the loop so easily…"

         "Because I'm not!" Aleiya insisted, "She's lithe as a dancer with skin like the summer mountains! And, despite being their high priestess, she's quite cheerful and boisterous. It made me wish I could enjoy more time in her company. I would have liked for you to meet her. …And, Her Highness Beatrice too, though perhaps she'd be more your speed. She's quite genteel and sedate."

         "I like excitable ladies as much as anyone," Miraluna countered, "Just because _I'm_ a bit shy- Well, maybe more because I'm a bit shy. They take some of the attention off of me."

         "Also, despite being extroverted, she is quite erudite. I do think you'd especially like her."

         "Maybe when the whole peace proposal is settled we can meet." It seemed like a reasonable possibility. Considering the importance of their respective faiths in the two kingdoms, it would make good symbolic sense for their highest-ranking clerics to attend the signing of any such treaty.

         Aleiya sighed, "Oh, I wonder if she's a good dancer. …I wonder if I can decree that our permanent peace celebration includes dancing?"

         After twenty days of deliberation, Sir Yoren of the Land of the Moon returned to his queen's side to ask for her vote, yea or nay, on the proposition that pulled out as the frontrunner among the various possibilities floated by the joint council.

         "We think a slight variation on a somewhat traditional solution to this kind of trouble would be best, Your Highness," he addressed his queen.

         Being that he was rather advanced in years, Aleiya allowed Yoren to sit on a small chair before her in her audience chamber rather than kneel. This occasionally gave her the feeling she was a stern teacher addressing a troublesome pupil when they meet like this. "Yes? Please elaborate, Sir Yoren."

         "An arranged marriage between the two lands."

         Aleiya raised an eyebrow. Beatrice was already married and her son was a boy barely old enough to read- certainly a marriage between the main branches of the two royal families was not the intent here. "…And the variation on it? Who do you wise folk propose should be married?"

         "The only women in these two kingdoms to stand near in esteem to our queens. The High Priestess Solesca and our own beloved First Priestess Miraluna."

         "Oh," Aleiya allowed her surprise to slip out, "I hadn't considered that."

         "When the possibility of the solar cults forming some kind of bond as an example to the rest of us arose, High Priestess Solesca suggested this possibility herself." Yoren's craggy face broke into a hopeful smile. "Your Highness, this proposal has already been met with approval from Queen Beatrice. It awaits only your agreement, and that of Her Blessedness."

         Aleiya nodded, considering this. It sounded like an equitable solution. If Miraluna would agree then, that would be that.

 

         Aleiya stressed to her friend as much as she could that the marriage arrangement was not an order. But they talked, and Miraluna went home to the Moon Temple to confer with the other priestesses, and she prayed on it, and finally agreed.

 

 

Second : The Preparations

 

         So what would a wedding between adherents of the cults of the Sun and the Moon entail? Obviously both sets of traditions needed to be honored, but how to strike a balance? Over both sides of the border, priestesses and scholars toiled, consulting religious texts and historical records for details of the most comparable wedding ceremonies in their lands in ages past. Never had priestesses of the Sun and the Moon married one another (at least officially), let alone the leaders of their respective cults, but variously throughout the ages high priestesses of the Sun and first priestesses of the Moon had married peasants and princes, weavers and sailors, songstresses and mosaic-makers, even, occasionally, across national borders. Picking and choosing this bit of tradition and that, surely they could compile an appropriate set of rituals.

         Miraluna and Solesca sent one another brief, semi-formal letters reiterating that they were both willing participants in this marriage. Most of the queries regarding what sort of words and actions would form acceptable compromises between their religious traditions were ferried to secondary priestesses of their orders, the top women only consulted on what seemed absolutely necessary. Though any bride would wish to shape her own wedding, there were just too many tiny details involved in such an affair of state and both women still had other duties to tend to.

         Miraluna, at least, expressed her relief that there were others to pare down the myriad options of the occasion. "When it's been established what the correct parameters are for my attire, find a dress you think would suit me, Alunei, and I'll just have it altered a little to my own tastes," she told the Moon's Third Priestess, overseeing everything involving fabric or flowers needed for the wedding on their side.

         "Lady Miraluna," Alunei laughed, her worn cheeks creasing with smile lines, "For an occasion like this you'll have a dress tailored specially! -And even were it not such an internationally important celebration, I'd be pressing for something just as special- because it's you!"

         The First Priestess' pale face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, I suppose you're right, Alunei. …I don't know much about weddings at all."

         "Don't you fret, Lady Mira," Alunei patted her hand, "You may be leaving us for the time being, but no matter where you're living, the rest of the Moon Cult and I will always be supporting you behind the scenes. …And after that first month in the Sun Kingdom, High Priestess Solesca will come to try living here with you."

         "I know you'll help me however you can, Alunei. …And you'll make my wife feel at home too."

         "However necessary and however long you must come and go," Alunei promised.

         A month in one kingdom and then a month in the other, back and forth until the two women agreed upon the best living conditions for them in either kingdom, or alternating on some schedule forever.

 

         The preparations for the wedding, pressed forward as they were by the desires of the monarchs involved, still took nearly a month. It all felt very abstract and dream-like to Miraluna, who had met her intended only once, in a situation both brief and formal (alas Queen Aleiya's hopes of energetic dancing- though she was insistent that such fun had only been deferred to the wedding itself). Solesca was as lovely as Aleiya had said, but she remained a stranger (Aleiya was far better acquainted with Miraluna's wife-to-be at this point).

 

         The date was set and foremost Temple of the Sun, where Solesca was already living, was chosen as the location. It was a three-day journey for the capital of the Land of the Moon. Together with Queen Aleiya and her entourage, Miraluna and all the members of the Moon Cult who had been selected to help and attend (a rather large portion of their numbers in the capital), set out to make the journey at a sedate pace befitting what was really a rather extended bridal procession.

 

 

Third : The Most Beautiful Wedding Of The Age

 

         Even as the royal and esteemed travelers came to rest at their destination, the whole thing struck Miraluna as unreal. She had never crossed the border before into the Sun Kingdom. The deeper they had traveled into the Sun's Land, the more pronounced the differences between this country and her home seemed- the many buildings painted brilliant oranges and reds, the smell of meat roasting at roadside stands, the music of their dialects mixed with the bells hung in the breeze to welcome the bridal party. She stuck close to Aleiya, squeezing into the royal palanquin with her, leaving her own empty, an easy weight for the Lunar Servants tasked with carrying it (and a harder job for Sir Yoren's men and women set to conveying their queen).

         "Are you scared?" Aleiya asked her on the eve of her big day, when they retired to the bedroom they were sharing in Beatrice's palace out of a combination of their friendship and security concerns. All the major players had visited the site of the ceremony and gone over any location-related instructions that were necessary for their parts in the wedding. Solesca had winked at Miraluna when they stood together on the dais, but they hadn't had more than a moment to talk.

         "No…not really…" Miraluna ran her hands over the cover of the borrowed bed, "I just… Feel strange. I know this is the right thing to do, but I feel so disconnected with my personal part in it. …If I felt scared, it might be easier to know how to react, really."

         "I suppose it all happened…not quite fast," Aleiya considered it, "But suddenly. Not in the usual way one expects these things to go. …Maybe I should have arranged for you to have some more personal sort of interaction with Solesca."

         "I don't think you should consider any of the issues I might have with the whole thing your fault, Your Highness. You've done your best throughout the whole endeavor to balance your roles as a queen and as my friend."

         Aleiya lay back and stretched her arms up above her head, running the tips of her fingers along the carved wood of the backboard. "You know more than anyone, Mira, I'll be praying for your personal happiness in this."

         That much, at least, was sure. "I know," Miraluna smiled.

 

         The following day was a flurry of all the activities that couldn't be handled ahead of time. Miraluna barely managed a small breakfast with her fellow Moon priestesses before she had to be whisked off for a ritual bathing, being dressed in her elaborate white and silver gown, including having her waist-length hair brushed and styled to fit under and through the enormous Moon-themed headdress and veil that had been made for her, having an artful touch of makeup added to her face to accentuate the low-key beauty she already possessed, and finally praying with and being prayed over by the other priestesses who had accompanied her. It barely seemed as if there were an available moment for her to worry about anything. She wondered if Solesca were being passed about, the center of a similar whirlwind of care and preparation.

         And, just like that, the Sun was dipping and the Moon was rising and she stood at one end of the long, uncovered hall of the Sun Temple, ready to walk down to the dais and meet Solesca.

         "Mira, are you breathing?" whispered Second Priestess Yolunei, on her right.

         Was she? Miraluna took a deep breath.

         "Don't pass out, dear," Third Priestess Alunei added, flanking her on the other side.

         Music began to issue from some hidden alcove of the temple, members of Queen Aleiya's favorite court band playing along with artists of the Sun Kingdom in a melody composed specially for the occasion. It was time to go. Miraluna grasped an appropriately modest amount of her gown in her hands, raising the front hem off the floor, and took her first step.

         After that first uncertain move forward, the second was easier. Her gaze darted forward to find High Priestess Solesca, moving toward her at just a slightly faster rate than her own, flanked by supporting priestesses of her own, and wearing an equally large and ostentatious headdress and veil, though they were mainly gold and clearly shaped to represent the sun and its rays.

         When they faced each other on the dais, Solesca smiled, brave and dazzling. Miraluna tried her best to reciprocate her welcoming expression.

         Despite their respective positions as heads of their cults, it had been deemed too odd a thing for the brides to marry each other, so the majority of the ceremony was conducted by the four women accompanying them, while they first stood simply facing one another, and then clasped hands as a woven braid of ribbon was bound around them, and then recited their vows. Both Queen Beatrice and Queen Aleiya came forward to say some words about their hopes for this union and what it represented for their two kingdoms as well as for the brides personally.

         Then the last action any wedding ceremony required in either of their lands whether small or grand- the kiss. Solesca reached first to take Miraluna's veil and lift it to lay back over her headdress. Miraluna's fingers trembled as she touched Solesca's gold webbing in turn. The Sun priestess stood a good half a foot taller than her. Solesca helpfully inclined her head to assist Miraluna in flipping her veil back.

         The women paused, taking one another in. Solesca didn't seem nervous at all, but neither was she impatient. When Miraluna leaned forward, turning her lips toward her bride, Solesca moved to meet her.

 

         It started as a diminutive kiss, chaste and cautious, but as Miraluna acquiesced to the wonder of the mysterious moment she was found herself at the center of, Solesca's lips spread a little wider. The Moon priestess didn't resist as Solesca kissed her soft and passionately, one hand falling to hold her round the waist.

         Opening her gray eyes to gaze into Solesca's hazel ones as the Sun priestess drew back, Miraluna wondered, for the first time, if a romantic experience might also classify as a religious one.

 

         Then came the applause, shaking her back into the temporal world. The feast, the toasts, the dancing. Solesca was beside Miraluna through all of it. They exchanged clipped bits of dialogue over the noise and Solesca smiled so frequently and so fervently that Miraluna couldn't help but smile back. But it seemed as though everyone wanted to talk to them- Queen Beatrice, Queen Aleiya, Sir Yoren, a dozen or more people from the Sun Kingdom that Miraluna had never even met before. Solesca removed her headdress before they danced, but Miraluna left hers on, unsure of the proper protocol until Alunei came to whisper that she could follow Solesca's lead on this. Miraluna found herself growing weary of a night that seemed to stretch on and on.

         At some juncture, Solesca seemed to pick up on this, and it wasn't much longer until she found an appropriate opportunity for them to thank everyone one last time and excuse themselves. She led the way down a winding hallway away from the noise of the party.

 

         And at last they were alone. In their bedroom. On their wedding night.

         Solesca stopped standing precisely in the doorway. Miraluna stumbled backwards a few steps, before dropping down onto the edge of the white canopied bed. She looked around, her nerves momentarily dissipated by the strange beauty of this sight- their nuptial chamber as fancifully decorated as any of the outdoor stages for the public portion of their wedding. The bed, all cloaked in whites and yellows and golds, was large, and more than accommodating enough for two women. On top of the billowing white canopy, flowers were scattered, adding a pleasant scent to the air. There were candles flickering in sconces carved with the emblems of both the Sun and Moon and large windows set into the curved roof above that allowed whatever natural light was available based on the time and conditions to enter into the room.

         "M-- Solesca," Miraluna caught herself before putting an unnecessary title before Solesca's name. Solesca had already told her that despite that slight edge the Sun Kingdom possessed in the current political situation, they were to be and regard one another as equals. …And that was _before_ they had been married. Now it certainly had to be more than just something they had said.

         "Yes?"

         "Um…" Miraluna pulled up her legs and scooted back across the plush surface of the bed to make room before her for her wife. The silky fabric of her gown slid back, exposing her legs from just above the knee down (and perhaps exposing a glimmer of her white-silver undergarment to the lights). She felt suddenly very aware of how young she was, and virginal (their kiss at the ceremony had been the first romantic kiss of her life!). Solesca's romantic life (to say nothing of her sexual experience) was a mystery to her. Miraluna could assume only that it had been within the approved bounds of her order for her to achieve the rank of High Priestess of the Sun and that, furthermore, Queen Aleiya and the advisors who had vetted all matters relevant to this union had found it acceptable.

         The mattress dipped as Solesca knelt down before her. "Miraluna? What's on your mind?"

         "I- ah- I guess it's about time now," Miraluna felt her voice failing her, growing squeaky as her throat tightened with nerves (what had possessed her to agree so readily before? she supposed that 'politically expedient' and 'for the greater good' hardly equaled 'real' - hardly approximated the warm body of this sweet-smelling young woman leaning close to her…), "To, uh-" How could she put it? "To make the marriage official down to the…last detail…"

         "Oh. Well, I think it's only natural that an arranged marriage such as ours should go unconsummated on the wedding night," Solesca said, so utterly confident that Miraluna's tense body drooped into a slouch, her most immediate fears assuaged.

         The people of the Sun Kingdom were said to burn hot with lust like their deity, and though Miraluna trusted her queen not to pass her off to a woman who would outright force her into intimacy against her will, the entire situation conspired to consider her pressured toward sex. Their relationship might be able to be complete without such intimacy in its capacity as a marriage between two people, but as a symbol of good will and trust between the nations…

         Solesca laughed at the sudden shift in her wife's posture. "Ha ha, oh, you're relaxed now." She shifted off her knees to sit beside Miraluna, leaning back casually against the plump, white pillows. "May I?" she reached one sun-kissed brown hand toward Miraluna's hair.

         "Oh, uh, sure." She had few qualms with nonsexual contact. She had grown up with a close group of girls at the Moon Temple, a whole cohort of six-- including Queen Aleiya, who had come to the temple to be fostered by the prior First Priestess following the death of her mother. So, if she and Solesca meant to fulfill their duty in a timely manner, hurrying their relationship from acquaintances to true wives, this wasn't a poor place to start.

         Solesca laughed again, patting Miraluna's poofy bangs. "You have such beautiful hair."

         "I- I like yours too," Miraluna replied with more force than she had intended.

         "Why, thank you." Solesca sounded sincerely flattered. Her hand trailed down from Miraluna's hair, over the rim of her cheek, to rest on her shoulder. "So, are you comfortable the way you're dressed or would you rather change out of that?"

         Miraluna looked down over the flowing gown. "Umm, I'm comfortable. -Since I got the headdress off," she added with an honest smile.

         "All right then," Solesca gave her shoulder a small squeeze, "Then, would it be all right with you if we stayed like this for a while?"

         "Th-that'd be fine." She inched a little closer. If she didn't have to be concerned about trying to hurriedly decide what kind of intimate interaction she could manage with her new wife without completely betraying her own feelings and fears, then… Then this was better even than fine. Honesty between them would begin here. "Solesca, I like to cuddle."

         "Ooh, I hope you're not ticklish then," Solesca squeezed her in the warmest, most contact-intensive hug Miraluna had shared in years.

         They talked on and eventually tumbled to sleep there in half their unshed wedding finery.

 

 

Fourth : How The Sun Wooed Her Wife

 

         Solesca was determined that if she and Miraluna were in any way compatible (which she was sure they were), she would win her new bride over such that the marriage was as right for them as it was meant to be for their countries. ...There was just going to be a bit of getting to know one another involved. Only people in fairy stories fell in love at first sight. Real love took time and understanding and probably some long, leisurely times together with the Glorious Goddess Sun shining down on your happy bodies, side by side on a picnic.

 

         In the first month in the Sun Kingdom, Miraluna was quiet, but definitely curious- about the cats who flocked to the temple to sunbathe, about the vegetable curry Solesca prepared on her own and served along with flat bread from the temple ovens, about Solesca's far-south accent, about the many stringed instruments she had never seen before- let alone heard- that the priestesses used there to praise their goddess.

And then Miraluna would grow quiet, nervous that perhaps she had gone too far; had asked too many questions. Solesca was rarely bothered. She did her best to answer them all.

 

         In the second month, in the Land of the Moon, Miraluna, on her home turf, seemed more at home (and yet Solesca found her still to be the quieter of the two of them). Miraluna went to efforts to make her wife feel at home in her other home, going so far as to offer that they bring some cats along (Solesca assured her there were few things less fun than traveling with a cat). Solesca enjoyed the new sights of her adoptive half-time home. She enjoyed seeing Miraluna in her element, laughing with Queen Aleiya and leading Lunar ceremonies.

        

         Miraluna grew bold enough in the third month to venture out of the Sun Temple on her own for walks in the morning amidst the nearby neighborhoods, although she was too shy to hold many conversations. Though Solesca was happy to grant her freedom to travel about on her own, she couldn't say she minded that when more talking might be involved- like in the marketplace- Miraluna preferred to have her come along. They held hands as they ambled down the packed sand streets; people parted subtly as they passed. Miraluna stood out. Solesca liked to be seen with her.

 

         By the fourth month of their marriage, it rarely felt peculiar to either woman to be spending so much time around the other. Solesca liked to dance- and when she wasn't able to do it at Solar ceremonies, Queen Aleiya's more frequent with peacetime parties would suffice. Miraluna tired quickly, but back in their chambers at the Moon Temple she would bring out the scented salts and they would bathe together and she would happily rub Solesca's sore feet. In turn, Solesca would help her comb and braid her hair, saying, "I can't believe how long it is!" every time.

 

         "The dances here look really fun," Miraluna admitted one evening after watching her wife perform a ritual dance before Queen Beatrice and her court.

         "It would be my pleasure to teach you."

         "I think they might be too fast for me though... I'm such a slow learner when it comes to that kind of thing. You wouldn't believe how much time Aleiya spent with me when we were little to get to the point where I am."

         "There are slower versions. Almost no one starts that fast. ...To dance with you like that... what incentive to be a patient teacher!"

 

 

 

Fifth : The Consummation

 

         It started with the two women parting from their dinner to their separate ceremonies and prayers. Because they were currently residing in the Temple of the Full Pale Moon there were more immediate responsibilities for Miraluna to attend to. She layered back up the Lunar Garb she had stripped off from over her ordinary white shift to avoid staining it while eating (Solesca's curry was amazing, but tended to leave yellow spots on things-- this was probably less of a problem in the Sun Kingdom where yellow was one of the most popular clothing colors) and headed down from Second Tower, topped by her chambers, to the First Tower, taller and wider, to lead the nightly Moonrise service with her fellow Lunar priestesses and assisting adherents, both women and men.

         Solesca handled the clean up from their meal, then went out onto the balcony to enjoy the Sun's last rays on her skin while she attended to her sunset prayer. She finished before Miraluna had returned and laid atop their bed for a while reading until she began to grow bored of the book (a cheap romantic novel she had bought in one of the local shops in the hopes that it might impress upon her a better appreciation of some of the tropes of relationships and love that held sway here and might have influenced Miraluna growing up). Solesca always found it harder to stick to mundane tasks like reading while in the Land of the Moon- there were just too many interesting and unusual things she could allow to distract her. She put the book aside and got up, wandering around the chambers she shared with Miraluna, just poking around quietly looking at things.

         The tiny mysteries that surrounded Miraluna, at least as far as Solesca's knowledge went, were one of her charming points. For instance- what were the tiny crystal animals lined up in the window nearest their bed? Had she owned them long? Were they common in the Land of the Moon? Had she played with them as a child? Just because Solesca loved to talk and laugh didn't mean she was lacking in a full inner life. Some things she asked her wife about now and some things she felt she was saving to ask or hear about later- if it wasn't important, imagining could be just as fun. She wondered if Miraluna felt the same away about her.

         Miraluna was always gently insistent that it was all right for Solesca to touch her things, but when she was alone here it just didn't seem proper, so she would simply look and keep her hands to herself.

         "Ohhh, sorry I was gone so long…" By the time Miraluna returned, hopelessly trying to pull her gauzy Lunar Garb off over her head while she was still walking, Solesca had washed up, changed into her nightgown, and was relaxing on the bed strumming her mandolin without an real tune in mind.

         "I did start to wonder," Solesca admitted, "But I figured that nothing bad would ever befall you here of all places so you had to be doing something either because it was important or you were enjoying it."

         "That seems like a…logical…way of thinking," Miraluna muttered, still half-tangled in her official robes.

         Solesca laid her mandolin down on one of the pillows, "Let me help you with that before you tear it or a pull a muscle… Come over here." Solesca stood up on the bed and carefully eased the rest of the robe over Miraluna's head- it was all her hair, really, that made this so difficult, tending, as it did, to get caught in the sequined embroidery.

         Freed from the gauze, hair tousled, Miraluna looked at Solesca (Miraluna was beautiful, the Sun priestess thought). "Thank you, Solesca." The way her Moon-ish accent tripped over the corners of her name- that was beautiful too. On further reflection, Solesca thought, it seemed like Miraluna was waiting.

         Solesca, towering even taller than usual over her wife while standing on the bed, learned down and kissed her small, soft mouth. And Miraluna kissed her back, starting off light and delicate like the majority of kind but not overly familiar kisses they shared- kisses that were something more than the sort of peck between friends or a mother and child but didn't promise anything further- but this time, not stopping there.

         After a moment, their lips broke apart, but Miraluna didn't step away, gazing thoughtfully still.

         "Your hair smells like incense," Solesca said, reaching to stroke it.

         "You still smell like curry," Miraluna smiled.

         "Even though I washed up?" Solesca ran her hand along the curve of Miraluna's cheek.

         "Curry and lavender soap," her wife amended, leaning in to Solesca's touch. "…But it's not a bad thing, I like it."

         They smiled at each other. Miraluna loosed a shy laugh, "…Did I interrupt your mandolin practice?" and Solesca giggled in turn, trying to express her amusement at the slightly charged, but pleasant encounter without upsetting Miraluna.

         Solesca slowly moved from her standing position to sit on the bed and Miraluna moved along with her, like the Moon captured in the Sun's sway. "I was just noodling around," Solesca brushed it off, "I was waiting for you to get back."

         "Would you ever write a song for me?"

         "Honestly, I'm not the greatest composer, but I'd be willing to try." Solesca ran her fingers back and forth along the bare skin of Miraluna's upper arm.

         And Miraluna turned around partway, nuzzling her nose against Solesca's neck and the underside of her chin. "…That feels nice."

         "Yeah? Then…maybe you wouldn't mind if I touched you a little more?" Solesca ventured.

         "Hmm…no," Miraluna didn't have to consider it long, "I wouldn't mind. I was thinking that… Well, that I really like you, Solesca. And maybe…" How did she put it? It wasn't the sort of thing that she wanted to feel forced, but, on the hand, after all Solesca's patience and kindness, she owed it to her to be clear about her feelings. "Well, let's cuddle and see how things go?"

         "Sounds like a plan."

         And if the tone of her voice were any indication, that sounded like exactly what Solesca would have wanted to do anyway. Her fingers slid around Miraluna's waist and up, tracing over her breasts. …And it felt nice. Miraluna stroked Solesca's arm in return, encouraging her with her smile. "You know what you're doing…?"

         "Up to this point, sure," Solesca shrugged lackadaisically, "But if we get to down between the legs, well, I've only touched myself, so be sure and tell me what you like or don't or if I should stop. Don't look so surprised!" the Sun Priestess laughed, "Just because the Sun Cult didn't require me to stay chaste doesn't mean as aspirant to and eventually High Priestess I didn't have to take that kind of thing very seriously!"

         "I'm not laughing at you," Miraluna promised, putting a kiss to Solesca's cheek, "But I am laughing at myself maybe. I shouldn't have been too shy to ask about those sorts of things before."

         "It makes sense that it takes time."

         "I'm still glad you're a little more experienced than me… Being First Priestess of the Moon is really the only thing I'm confident I can do properly. When it comes to proper court manners I'm always relieved to have Aleiya to lead the way and the same with Alunei when it comes to maintaining our archives and…Well, all kinds of things like that."

         "If I'd known I was going to wind up with an adorable wife who would have wanted me to eventually be able to take the lead with these things I…" Solesca murmured close to Miraluna's ear, enjoying the closeness and the scent of her hair, "Well, I still don't think I ever had a relationship I would have to liked to take further, but I would have read up more!"

         Miraluna gave Solesca's arm a playful shove, "Ohhh, I love you just the way you are!"

         "Miraluna, I love you too," Solesca whispered, entirely ready to keep moving forward and see where the evening took them.

         A beautiful shiver of pleasure ran down Miraluna's spine.

 

 

Sixth : Happily Ever After

 

         In the first harvest season to follow their peace agreements the Land of the Moon and the Sun Kingdom were inundated with record yields in their crops- and though certainly this matter had something to do with the cessation of hostilities freeing farmers to spend more time tilling their land without fear of their lands being trampled or torched, somewhere a whisper began that grew up into a rumor, focused on the matter of the alignment of the two lands' highest priestesses. That the Sun and the Moon had cooperated in a manner parallel to that of their earthly representatives; that other friendly interactions between the citizens of their chosen nations could only encourage further peace and fruitfulness.

 

         "You're less nervous these days," Queen Aleiya remarked to Miraluna as they shared a cup of tea in the queen's private chambers following a brief meeting in a more official capacity. "Solesca's not just a good person- she's good for you."

         "It's best to rush these things, but when you say that it makes me hope you'll meet someone," the priestess answered. "You were always the romantic one, after all."

         "I only hope I know when I meet them…" she tapped her painted fingernails against the table, "I encounter any number of attractive and interesting people in the course of carrying out my responsibilities as queen, but so many I meet just once- it's hard to gauge if there might be a spark."

         "Also, it probably doesn't help that being attracted to both men and women you have a wider than average field of potential choices," Miraluna laughed, though her mirth was tinged with sympathy.

         "Well, you're lucky, Mira- priestesses don't have to worry about blood when it comes to heirs."

         "You and Queen Beatrice had quite a success with Solesca and me- maybe you need to ask her to help set you up!"

         "You have gotten bold!" Aleiya insisted, "It's love! I know it! It's love!"

         "You are the worst tease in the entire Land of the Moon! You're the queen tease!" Miraluna folded her arms, mock-offended, "I am just going to have to go home now and ask my wife to console me!"

         "You're worse! You're much worse! You're the first priestess of teases!" the queen roared with laughter at this ridiculous exchange born of friendship.

         The noise the two women made was such that Sir Yoren felt obligated to poke his head in and see that they were both all right.

 

         "You were gone a while today," Solesca looked up from the Sun mandala she was painting at Miraluna's return. "Did you have fun with your queen?"

         "Oh, we had a great time chatting. There were extra tea cookies- look," she held up a small pink bag, "I brought them home for you. But, anyway-" It was such a light, frivolous little thing that she wanted to say Miraluna couldn't help but start to blush before the words had even left her lips, "The good times I have with Aleiya are even better than they used to be, because once I leave her, I know that I'll be coming home to you."

         "Aaah, Great Sun!" Solesca exclaimed, putting her work aside as quick as she could in a rush to jump and embrace her wife, "What wondrous thing did I do to deserve being married to you?"

 

 

         In the time of Solesca and Miraluna, it couldn't be said that everything was always perfect, but war never again erupted between their two nations and the two lived together happily for the rest of their lives.


End file.
